Culture=Brand

Success starts with a winning culture.

Normally when we talk about branding, we are thinking about the perceptions our customers have of our company, products and services. This is right, but not enough. It leaves out one very important constituency: your company team.

The perceptions and motivations of your staff are just as important as those of your customers. In fact, you can’t brand to the outside world without first branding on the inside. Because, the energy and passion your team brings to realizing your shared company vision directly impacts the customer experience.

Company Culture & BrandWhat does it feel like to work at your company? Is it loud or quiet? Funny or serious? Are people excited to come in to work, or are they counting the hours until 5 pm Friday comes? Does your company merely make products or is it changing the world? Does your company live to make profits or to help people? Is there a sense of shared vision? If you asked every individual person why your company exists, would they all say the same thing? Would they be excited to talk about it, or bored? In other words, do you have a great culture story?

We're willing to bet that if you asked anyone what type of company they’d like to work for, they’d agree on the following description:

It’s fun to work here.

Our company is doing something important for people.

I am excited and passionate about the purpose of our company – our reason for being. I’m here because I believe in the mission of the company.

So is everyone else I work with here.

Our company values us – we are listened to, our ideas are thoughtfully considered and implemented, and we are treated and compensated fairly.

Our company appreciates us. We are recognized and thanked for our contributions regularly.

Our company empowers us to do what we think is right and to try new things in support of our customers and our mission.

Everyone here is devoted to delighting our customers, and our customers really appreciate all we do.

We work hard and we play hard. We love what we do.

It’s like “family” here.

Imagine how energetic and inspiring a workplace this company is. Who wouldn’t want to work here? And, do you think all this positive energy would transfer over from the company team to the customers? Of course it would. Even if staff don’t have direct contact with customers, consider the product. If your team lovingly crafts the product to ensure top quality and usability, the customer’s experience of using the product will reflect this loving attention to detail. The opposite is also true – a product poorly made by apathetic employees will provide a poor user experience for the customer.

It’s clear then that how your team feels inside the company directly affects how your customers feel about your company, products and services. And, how your customers feel is what your brand is truly all about.

Syncing Culture & BrandYour brand is the expression of your culture. If you have a dull, lifeless culture, your brand will follow suit. Similarly, if your culture is vivacious, gregarious and passionate, your brand will be too.

Of course, this isn’t automatic. Just because you have an energized internal culture doesn’t mean your brand identity – logo, typography, colors, imagery, packing, etc. – express that energy. Similarly, you might have the most fashion-forward and energetic look for your brand, courtesy of a high-priced design agency. But if your sales and customer service staff don’t reflect the same aesthetic and energy, and if your products and services don’t live up to the energy of your brand, then you’ll end up with a brand disconnect. In other words, the customer experience of your brand will not be consistent across all touch points. In this case, your graphics say one thing, but your people and offerings say another.

So while many, or perhaps most, companies start with external branding first, this is backwards. You need to start from the inside first, from your company’s very core, to craft your culture's story. Your brand will then extend from this foundation.